Start Date: July 2020

ID #: CAS063

Organization: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Project Lead: Erica Kenney

See more related research

Share


The goal of this project is to use administrative SNAP data from Massachusetts (MA) to identify the prevalence and risk factors for churning among households with children aged 0 to 5 years (n=203,000) and the impact of recent administrative policy changes on churning in this population. In collaboration with Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) in Massachusetts, the subrecipient expects to identify concrete, actionable ways to reduce future churning –knowledge that may help maximize the impact of SNAP among the most vulnerable participants. The specific aims for this project are: Aim 1: to identify the frequency of churning among households with young children, overall and by the number of children; Aim 2: to assess risk factors (household demographics, program participation history) for churning among households with young children; and Aim 3: to evaluate the impact of state administrative policies on the prevalence of churning among households with young children.

Related Research

September 2022

Simplification of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recertification Processes and Association With Uninterrupted Access to Benefits Among Participants With Young Children

In the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), families may temporarily lose benefits for which they are still eligible because of administrative issues. This lapse in benefits, referred to as churning, increases the risk of food insecurity for families, which is linked with poorer health. This study examined the rate of churning among SNAP participants with More

January 2025

A Systematic Review: The Impact of COVID-19 Policy Flexibilities on SNAP and WIC Programmatic Outcomes

The objective of this study was to explore the impact of policy flexibilities deployed during the COVID-19 public health emergency on access, enrollment/retention, benefit utilization, and perceptions of SNAP and WIC. The review identified 37 eligible articles. Twelve studies evaluated policy flexibilities in SNAP only, 21 in WIC only, and 4 in both programs. Across More

December 2024

Opportunities to Improve Summer EBT: Perspectives from state SNAP agencies

Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), or SUN Bucks, is a new federal program that provides grocery benefits to low-income families with children during the summer months, when children no longer have access to free or reduced-price meals at school. However, 13 states did not opt into the program when it launched in 2024. To understand More